Fusion takes place in the core, where the temperature and pressure are the highest.

coal power can be generated at night

The 30% solar ITC (Federal or Investement Tax Credit) has been extended till the end of 2018!

The ITC will now continue at 30% until the end of 2018 for both homeowners and businesses, and then step down over the next three years to 25%, then 20%, then 15%, until it is just 10% in 2022. The ITC is essentially a 30% discount on the cost of going solar.

The photoelectric effect refers to the emission, or ejection, of electrons from the surface of a metal in response to light. It is the basic physical process in which a solar electric or photovoltaic (PV) cell converts sunlight to electricity. Sunlight is made up of photons, or particles of solar energy.

A means to store energy to cover the period when the sun is not shining- night or cloudy weather.

In the words of bekey "As the sun spot activity increases, the Earth tends to warm up. Conversely as sun spot decreases the Earth tends to cool a bit."

Neither solar or wind is directly used to deal with waste.

Solar panels don't actually hold any charge. They simply convert sunlight into direct current - which is fed immediately into the household's electricity supply. If the house it using less power than is converted - the surplus is fed back into the mains electrical grid - and the household is credited for the extra power generated.

It's free (apart from the cost of the solar panels). It's reliable (for as long as there is sunshine !). It's environmentally friendly (it doesn't produce any waste products). In fact - on the 'green' position... any 'unused' energy can be fed back into the national grid - for which the householder is paid by the energy companies !

Rays of sunlight hit the solar panel (also know as a photovoltaic/ PV) and are absorbed by semi-conducting materials such as silicon.

Photovoltaic cells are usually constructed from silicon, an abundant material that constitutes more than 28 percent of the Earth's crust. These cells are created by bonding two wafers of silicon that are connected to metal wires. The top wafer of silicon is extremely thin, covered by a chemical that stimulates electrons. The bottom wafer is thicker than the top, and is covered by a chemical that inhibits electron activity. The wafers produce electricity when they absorb solar radiation.

"Create as much energy" is poorly defined. The amount of energy produced from solar energy will depend on the surface area used for solar panels, the weather, the efficiency of the panels, and for how long it is used. Similarly, the amount of energy produced by a coal power plant would depend on its size, its efficiency (which of course may also vary), and for how long it is used. Please think about what exactly you want to compare.

The Sun's solar output is more or less constant (it is getting hotter very slowly but over human time scales this is irrelevant) and the planet Earth is not growing in diameter. This means that the solar irradiation Earth receives is dependent on its position on its orbit. The orbit is slightly elliptical and therefore in December it is closer to the Sun than in June. This distance is the only factor that affects the solar energy impinging on the planet.